Page 2 OFFICERS John Robitaille, President Joe DeGraw, President-elect Alex Rose, Vice President Tom Grogan, Secretary Ed Rate, Treasurer BOARD OF DIRECTORS Terms expire in 2009 Spencer Amend Bob Fischer Scott Novotny Richard Soffe Terms expire in 2010 John Fanto Jamie Gibson Joe Meyer Gene Theriault Terms expire in 2011 Darin O’Dell Kim Levine Jim Sparks Bill Wichers The Backcast is the monthly newsletter of the Wyoming Fly Casters, an affiliate club of the Wyoming Council of Trout Unlimited, the Nature Conservancy and the Federation of Fly Fishers. Editorial content does not necessarily reflect the views of the officers, board or members of the Wyoming Fly Casters. Annual dues are $20 for an individual, $30 for a family, or $250 for a lifetime individual membership or $450 for a lifetime family membership. Visit the club website at www.wyflycasters.org. The deadline for submission of information for each issue is the last Wednesday of the month. Make contributions to the next issue by e-mailing material to the Backcast editor at ChevPU57@aol.com, or call (307) 436-8774. The Backcast is available either in electronic format or through USPS snail mail. To receive each newsletter through a monthly e-mail, you must be able to open .pdf (Adobe Acrobat, a software format available free of charge) documents. Generally, each issue is roughly 1 MB in size, some are larger. Your e-mail provider may have limits on the size of attachments. In order to be added to the e-mail list, send a request message to ChevPU57@aol.com. In addition to receiving each issue of the newsletter earlier than your hard copy peers, email subscribers are able to print each copy in vibrant color -- an added plus if the issue is rich in color photographs. By subscribing electronically, you also save the club roughly $17.40 a year in printing and postage expenses.
Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
Drag-free Drif ts by John Robitaille, President, WFC 009 is coming fast. As I look back on 2008, I have a great deal of fishing memories. I was lucky enough to fish several different waters, some for the first time. I was able to travel to Montana and fish the Big Horn for the first time. I even fished the South Platte in Colorado. I was also lucky enough to try my luck in saltwater with a fly rod. I visited several waters that I had not been to in a few years and relived old memories while making new ones. My twin boys fished from a boat for their first time this year, and I am very happy to report they would like to go back and do it again. As I look forward to 2009, I don't
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know what awaits me. I hope I get to travel to new locations, like Idaho, or other waters in Montana or Colorado or even Utah. Who knows. We have had a lot of fun in 2008, and I hope to continue to have fun in 2009. Don't forget about the WFC banquet coming up -- there are lots of opportunities for you to travel to other places and fish -- but be warned, I might be bidding against you. I hope your 2008 was grand, and your 2009 will be even grander. Wishing you all a happy and healthy new year!
Tailing Loops by Randy Stalker, Backcast editor ere are a few resolutions for 2009, in no particular order. Make the trip to Denver on Jan. 10 for the fly fishing show. A number of club members have indicated a desire to attend. Last year, fierce weather doomed the drive to the Greenie state. To fish small, remote streams more often, leaving the river and the stillwaters to the hoards. (The exception, of course, are hosted club outings, which would be attended.) And to fish Boxelder Creek every month it is fishable, using only dry flies. Catch a 24 in. trout on a size 24 midge pupa on 5X tippet on the Big Horn River this April. To make opening day on the Firehole for the first time in the last four years. This weekend is a real treat for anyone who has been lucky enough to fish this magnificent stretch of water in on the last weekend in May from a base in the Madison campground. Plus, the park is fairly empty and traffic jams are a month or two away. The fish may not be large or numerous, but there is something about fishing amid the thermal features of Muleshoe Bend, Oje Caliente or
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Biscuit Basin, or my personal favorite, the junction with the Nez Perce. I doubt if I’ll go to the park in July, and it remains questionable whether the club will mull an outing this year, due to the joint justifications of lousy fishing and high admission, fuel and lodging costs. Fish the north fork of the Tongue River. For the last two years, a few club members had a ball fishing and camping here; almost a hundred fish were caught by six of us in early July. Fish the Middle Fork of Powder River. It has been eleven years since I drove my ‘57 Chevy pickup to the Miller Trail. Perhaps the club could host an outing here in late July ... Finally complete the cutt-slam. I have two to go; the Bonneville and Colorado. Maybe Spencer and Lloyd will put together a cutt-slam trip to the Grey’s River again this year. Fishing in Chile and New Zealand will remain dreams, I’m afraid, again this year. Someday, maybe. • Thanks to Scott Novotny for some of the images of the Christmas party featured in this issue.
Cover shot: A Boxelder Creek brown trout is cradled by Ed Rate.
Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
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FISHING REPORTS From the membership The following reports were gleaned from information presented at the last meeting, as well as from published sources, and filtered from gossip, boasting, bragging, and other exaggerated claims from reliable but biased secondhand sources.
Which one should I pick? Participants in the fly walk during the December Christmas party select packages containing mystery fly patterns.
Entomology clinic is on tap Can you tell the difference between a caddis nymph and a mayfly emerger? If not, help is on the way to identify types of aquatic insects. Capt. Mark Bonane, owner of the Platte River Fly Shop and a veteran guide on the North Platte, is slated to present a program on entomology during the Jan. 14 general membership of the Wyoming Fly Casters. The meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. in the Isaac Walton League clubhouse at Ft. Caspar. Members are encouraged to attend and guests are always welcome. Members are reminded that dues for the 2009 year is now being accepted by the club treasurer. • There are no outings scheduled for the immediate future (at least during
the coldest part of winter). Plans are now being made for the annual trip to the Big Horn River outside of Ft. Smith, MT, set for April 1719. Lloyd Ferguson and Ed Rate are again the streamkeepers, and Don “Chef Ptomaine” Jelinek has accepted a request that he again share some cooking duties. The cost for the trip has not yet been determined. Last year, it was $50 for each fisherman for the two nights’ lodging. The club has reserved “the condo” at Cottonwood Camp again for the weekend. Be sure to put your name on the list to reserve your space. The best way to fish the Big Horn is from a drift boat, but some opportunities exist for the wading fisherman.
Flows on the North Platte River are to remain at 500 cfs for the balance of the winter. During the next few months, three nymph patterns are all you need: scuds, rock worms and midges. Of course, pine squirrel and hot head leeches are always effective patterns, regardless of the time of year. The upper North Platte remains ice free. But from government bridge downstream to Glenrock, the river is iced up. Although the river remains fishable in its upper stretches below Grey Reef, the banks are suspectible to a thin layer of ice when temperatures hover around zero degrees. But then, few fly fishermen will be sampling the opportunities when it’s that cold. They’ll be at the tying bench or huddled against the fire with a toddy. Because of an early spat of freezing weather, Pathfinder is now covered with a blanket of ice and Alcova may be joining its large upstream brother by the time this newsletter reaches the membership. Two club members braved the frigid temperatures and brisk wind the last weekend in December and floated the Big Horn River outside Ft. Smith, MT. Additionally, they could not find lodging (“There was no room at the inn.” Hmm... have I heard this December excuse before..?) so they were forced to stay, not in a stable, but their pickup. By deadline, they had not provided the Backcast with a report on their fishing experience and success. To include your fishing report, send information to the Backcast editor, c/o ChevPU57@aol.com.
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Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
FLY
of the month
RENEGADE HOOK: TMC 100, sizes 10-18 THREAD: Black RIB: Fine gold wire TAG: Gold mylar tinsel REAR HACKLE: Brown BODY: Peacock herl FRONT HACKLE: White This dry fly can be used on small streams, rivers and lakes. It was devised in Wyoming by Taylor “Beartracks� Williams around the late 1920s. Ernest Hemingway enjoyed fly fishing and is quoted in saying, "Taylor Williams came to work in Sun Valley (Idaho) in 1937 (as hunting and fishing guide). He was an excellent dry fly fisherman. He always said that he was responsible for the renegade fly." Some patterns make us wonder what trout see in them. The renegade is one such pattern. It works in smaller sizes as a mating midge cluster but also works in larger sizes as an all around dry fly attractor for those times when you feel like fishing a dry but nothing is rising. The fly works as to the trout it looks like something edible. What I am not to sure but they seem to like it. I use a small renegade during midge hatches as it looks like a couple of mating midges. Midges or gnats are the staple diet of most trout. These tiny insects are found on most rivers, lakes and streams. They have small dark bodies and whitish wings. This traditional pattern has peacock herl, a material whose trout catching ability should never be underestimated. When and where should you use it? During midge hatches (use size 14-18) or anytime you feel like casting a dry fly and there is no hatch in progress.
Great Rockies Sport Show coming Tyers, casters and booth help needed by Alex Rose The Great Rockies Sport Show will take place at the Casper Events Center Jan. 30 - Feb 1. Our club has pledged to help out with fly tying and casting demonstrations in exchange for a free booth. I spoke with show manager Bill Reier about the demonstrations. He said the tyer will set his or her equipment in a theater, and a video camera will zoom in on the tyer's vice. As the tyer explains the process of creating a pattern, the video image will be projected on a large screen. Each demonstration should last about 30 minutes. During the event, we have 15 scheduled slots that need to be filled. There is no need to be an expert to demonstrate the art of tying. After all, I've signed up to demonstrate egg patterns, rock worms and pine squirrel leeches. It would be great if the club demonstrated how to tie a variety of fly patterns, from wooly buggers and nymphs to dry flies. We also need club members to demonstrate casting in a pond, and with 16 times slots to fill. The casting demonstrations should last approximately 30 minutes. Here are the time slots we need to fill: Fly tying: Friday: 2:00, 3:15, 4:30, 5:15 (Alex) 6:30 (Alex) Saturday: 10:15, 11:30, 12:45, 2:00, 3:15, 4:30 (Alex) Sunday: 10:15, 11:30, 12:45, 2:00 Casting: Friday: 1:30, 2:30, 3:30, 4:30, 5:30, 6:30 Saturday: 11:30, 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, 3:30, 4:30 Sunday: 11:30, 12:30, 1:30, 2:30 The club will also need to fill slots at the booth. For the show, the club will be selling tickets for a rod and reel outfit, as well as a 50-50 daily raffle, and recruiting new members. Call Don Jelinek at 267-7477 to sign up. This is the first year that the Great Rockies Sport Show is visiting Casper, so we don't know what to expect for attendance. Reier estimates that the event could attract between 5,000 to 6,000 people. The event is a good opportunity for the Wyoming Fly Casters to put our best foot forward before the community. If you are interested in tying, casting, or helping out at our booth, call me, 828/467-3789, or email, alexmrose@hotmail.com.
Casper Events Center Jan. 30, 31 and Feb. 1 Hours Friday: 1 pm to 8 pm Saturday: 10 am to 6 pm Sunday: 10 am to 3 pm
Admission Prices Adults: $6.00 Juniors: (6 - 16) $3.00 Kids: (5 & under) FREE
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Suggested outings for the new year Quite a few potential outings have been suggested for the 2009 year. Volunteers are always needed and welcomed to assume the responsibilities as streamkeepers to organize the activity, publicize it, arrange for a cookout (if desired) and provide insight into tactics and techniques. Outings in 2008 were generally poorly attended. In an effort to improve the patronage at club-sponsored events, club members are being requested to pick an outing and host it. Some new ideas are needed, and perhaps some different club functions could be scheduled this year. Here are a few ideas: January, February and March: Although these have a reputation for being miserable months, the weather can also be markedly nice on occasion. It’s hard to plan ahead, but the river can be quite productive -- just ask those who complete the “catch a fish a month” program every year. April: The traditional Big Horn River in Montana weekend, and the Cardwell access. May: Opening day on the Firehole River. Local streams may be blown out from runoff. The river is usually in prime spring condition. June: Deer Creek, Platte River float, Walker-Jenkins, Snowy Range, Toltec or Walker Jenkins float tubing. Or the Big Horn through Thermopolis. July: Middle Fork of the Powder River, North Fork of the Tongue River, Yellowstone, Snowy Range, Muddy Guard. August: Ten Sleep, Snake River, Grey’s River (for a cutt-slam), Snowy Range. September: Platte River float (Glenrock stretch), a tradition. October: Flycasters access at Speas. November and December: Night fishing at Grey Reef. These are only suggestions. If you have an idea for an outing, organize it, announce it at the club meeting, provide some publicity (including directions and fly patterns), and arrange for a meal if desired or appropriate.
M Y F LY B OX This month, Tom Grogan provides a glimpse of his river box, which includes nymphs, rockworms, eggs, San Juan worms, and a variety of hot head and squirrel leeches and an assortment of streamers.
Banquet planning is underway The WFC banquet committee has been meeting and developing plans and ideas for the upcoming banquet in April. (April 4, for those that don't already know). If you are interested in
becoming a member of this committee, or any other committee for that matter, please let John Robitaille know as soon as possible. Get involved and enjoy your club!
Thanks and recognition, in the true Ten Sleep tradition, belatedly go out to several Fly Casters for their time and efforts at this past fall’s Sports Expo: Spencer Amend and Kim "Eagle One" Levine stepped up to offer casting lessons to many future fly casters. Many thanks fellas! In addition to Spencer’s and Kim's efforts, a group of fellow fly casters headed up by the "Key Lime Kid," Ed Rate, sold $559 worth of raffle tickets to Expo attendees. Those members hawking the tickets included Ed, Richard Soffe, Randy "Scoop" Stalker, John "The Bonus Ticket Master" Fanto and Don "Chef Ptomaine" Jelinek. Great job guys! You all did a super job of representing the club! We're still looking for volunteers for the Great Rockies Sport Show at the Casper Events Center. Call Don at 267-7477 or Ed at 237-9667 for more information.
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Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
Christmas Fly
AGONY at the VICE by Alex Rose Vice President, WFC “No great thing is created suddenly.” – Epictetus, Greek philosopher
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orget the stress of holiday shopping: Try tying a creative holiday-themed fly for the Christmas banquet, something that had never been tied before. The rules, as stated in the last issue of the The Backcast, were the following: “Tie the gaudiest, most imaginative fly on a holiday theme in Christmas colors and assorted materials. All creations should have an appropriate name. The only requirement for an entry is that it be tied
on a hook.” The first step in creating my entry involved building a roaring fire in the fireplace. The second step was to pour a large glass of red wine before settling in at the fly tying desk. I have discovered that few activities in life are more relaxing than enjoying a drink by the vice, and listening to a crackling fire while mindlessly wrapping thread around a hook. I secured a large hook in the vice, in a vertical position. I then lowered the desk lamp until it hovered over my gleaming, shiny hook. I attempted to use my tying materials to create a Christmas tree. For the tree limbs, I twisted strips of olive rabbit fur around the shank until they reached the eye. The fur actually resembled limbs. However, my illusion of
Rose said he was proud of his third place finish at the Christmas banquet.
a Christmas tree vanished when I attempted to decorate it with pieces of chenille. The branches appeared to be lashed down by awkward garlands. No amount of wine could have convinced me that my creation looked like a Christmas tree. It didn’t even resemble a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. It looked more like owl feces. After several tries, I abandoned the Christmas tree for a more general, abstract concept: a fly, decorated with Christmas colors, that would stride the line between gaudy and class. I went for the Hooters restaurant theme: “Delightfully tacky, yet unrefined,” which really makes no sense, when you think about it. Anyhow, after about an hour, I had
Richard Soffe’s winning creation.
Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter used feathers, peacock hurl, flashabou, and other random and assorted materials to create something I was halfway proud of. If anything, my entry showed I’m capable of tying something more complicated than an egg pattern. At the Christmas banquet, I was pleased to find that only four club members had entered flies into the competition. This meant my chances of placing were pretty good. After the votes were counted, my streamer pattern, featuring what I admit is a very lame name (“Santa’s Surprise), placed third. Following the contest, I took out my reporter’s tablet and interviewed my competitors. Second place finisher Tom Grogan sat across from me at the dinner table. “So Tom,” I said, in a mocking, journalistic voice, “How does it feel to have won second place in the competition?” Tom had tied a cute, dainty, girly fly that resembled Rudolf – and just in case this needs further explanation – “the red nose Reindeer.” “Well,” said Grogan, sounding much like a football coach being interviewed after winning a big game, “I got to tell you, it feels intense, after laboring hour after hour over this fly. I can’t even begin to express the magnitude of placing second.” Grogan’s wife, Summer, spoke up. “People thought it was clever, honey.” “Well, clever doesn’t get you first place,” Grogan said, with a self-deprecating laugh. I wandered across the room and interview first place finisher Richard Soffe, who tied a beautiful fly mounted on a plastic Goofy figurine. “It really feels good,” said Soffe, who placed second in last year’s competition. “Apparently, I’m a better tier than a fisherman.” Soffe had tied a spruce fly streamer, but said that the Platter River special was his inspiration. He left the eye open on the fly, in case someone wants to try it. After interviewing Soffe, I cornered Dick DePaemelere, who placed last. I asked DePaemelere, rubbing it in, “So, how does it feel to have placed last in the competition?” He was a good sport and laughed it off. DePaemelere is an outstanding tier with years of experience. He could tie better flies than me using his toes. Last year, on a cold, winter, snowy day, the club hosted a beginner’s fly tying class at the Platte River Fly Shop.
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Those competing in the annual Christmas fly contest at the December meeting were, from left, Alex Rose, third place; Tom Grogan, second; Dick DePaemelere, fourth, and Richard Soffe, first. Each received a gift certificate for their creative efforts.
DePaemelere was the instructor. I brought a few fly tying tools along with my new vice, a cheap knockoff of a Renzetti, manufactured by Pakistani craftsmen. DePaemelere patiently taught his students basic fly tying patterns. I was introduced to a world of feathers, thread, fur and beads. My wife once commented that the fly tying section of Sportsman’s Warehouse is really a “craft store – for men.”
Lyin’ and Tyin’ clinics return The next one is Jan. 17 at 9 a.m.
Over the past year, I have scoured Wyoming searching for exotic fly tying materials. My pride and joy is a strip of badger fur found in an antique store in Thermopolis. I have dedicated myself to tying mediocre to passable flies that miraculously catch fish, and I now placed third in the Christmas fly competition. A note to DePaemelere: I bet you now regret teaching me how to tie, don’t you?
The Lyin' and Tyin' clinics will be held this year at the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. Mark your calendars for the following dates: Jan. 17, Feb. 14, and March 14. The clinics will be held between 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. For new members not familiar with these clinics, they provide an excellent opportunity for tiers of all skill levels to socialize while tying flies. For those interested in learning how to tie, this is your chance to learn from some experts. Just buy the materials, show up with a vice, and learn from the pros.
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Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
A course in drift boat fishing Chapter 5: Equipment and Flies (Part 2) ne marvelous advantage of fly fishing from a drift boat is that the fisherman does not cast long distances because the drift boat shortens the distance between the fly fisherman and fish. In recent years, I have all but abandoned my long 5-weight fly-fishing systems and have started carrying 2/3- or 4/5-weight fly-fishing systems in which the fly rods seldom exceed 6 feet in length. Such mini-casting systems are ideal for making short casts and are easier to stow in the boat. The short fly-fishing system is not unique with me, although I started fishing with a 5-foot fly rod when I was a youngster growing up in Oakland, California. The fly rod I used during those days of yore was patterned after one described in an article published in a national fishing magazine sometime around 1952. The author described a "magic wand"-a fly rod 5 feet in length specifically designed for fishing brushcovered streams in the western and northern parts of Pennsylvania. He indicated that the short fly rod was ideal for casting and fishing tiny dry flies in tight quarters, but troublesome for casting and fishing big dry flies or weighted wet flies in similar situations. My first magic wand was 5 feet in length, salvaged from a broken glass rod discarded in the municipal dump. In those days, fly rods were not classified by casting weight. Instead, each was classified by diameter and weight of the line it effectively could throw. My rod was stiff enough to throw a small rope but perfect for casting into the 5-, 6-, and 8foot diameter culverts that moved streams under city streets and nearby rural highways. Back then, many streams draining southwest off the Hayward Fault, flowing through several municipalities between Oakland and Niles (now Fremont), and discharging into San Francisco Bay supported respectable annual runs of steelhead. Surprisingly, those runs were unknown to local residents. But, they surely entertained and nutritionally benefited me during those early, pre-teen years. Today my fly rods are each made of graphite, 2/3- or 4/5-weight, between 5.5
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to 6.5 feet in length, and individually less than 2.5 ounces in total weight. Admittedly, such short, lightweight fly rods give the fish a decided advantage. That is okay. Anymore, I am not as interested in landing a fish as I am in hooking a fish. One or two fish per trip hooked, landed, and returned to the river safely is more than enough excitement and gratification. Those fish that beat me are stories for friends, colleagues, and future grandchildren. A heavily weighted fly can be cast easily and managed effectively with a short, lightweight rod. However, success requires practice and patience. Admittedly, a short fly rod can be a little testy and annoying, testy in the sense that it exposes any flaw in casting technique, and annoying in the sense that fishing in waters deeper than 8 feet requires mechanical adjustments to the whole casting system described in the previous chapter. One nice thing about fishing a long fly rod is that the rod effectively hides flaws in casting technique. Anyone can cast a fly-especially a dry fly-after a modicum of instruction or training. "Rod wavers" do that all the time. Many fishermen can cast the same fly with a short rod, albeit not as far, after the same amount of instruction. What fly fishermen generally suppose is that casting and fishing a sinking fly with a short rod is impossible. The only way to cast and fish a sinking fly is to initiate the cast without any slack in the line. Learn to load the fly rod by simultaneously turning the torso and shoulders backwards and lifting the arm during the back cast to get the line and fly out of the water. Then, turn the torso and shoulders forward, pushing on the handle of the rod with the thumb during the forward cast to accelerate the line and fly towards the target. Almost anything else results in a hopeless mess, with the line wrapping around the fly fisherman and the fly hitting him or her-or others in the boat-in the back, shoulder, or head. My casting technique is anything but flawless. Each time I do something wrong and become entangled in my line or accidentally hit myself or someone else with a weighted
The following article is an excerpt from the electronic book, Hunt - Don’t Pray - for Fish, Techniques and Strategies for Fly Fishing from a Drift Boat, written by Harley W. Reno, Ph.D., a friend of the Wyoming Fly Casters and occasional program presentor. The entire content is copyrighted by the author, and is used here with his permission. The CD is available for purchase through the Federation of Fly Fishers, and 80 percent of the $25 cost of each CD is being donated by the author back to the federation for its conservation and education funds. In the coming months, other chapters of Dr. Reno’s book are to be featured in the Backcast.
fly, I let the situation tell me what went wrong and strive to eliminate the flaw (i.e., a root-cause analysis). And I have been fishing those short fly rods for more than 50 years. If anyone is interested in building a 6-foot 4/5-weight fly rod, the blank and ancillary paraphernalia can be procured as a kit from a source like Neal's Custom Fishing Rods and Guide Service of Scottsdale (Arizona). Neal's present email and web addresses are: killrrod@ix.netcom.com and www.nealsfishingtackle.com. Flies As noted in the opening commentary of this chapter, clients always ask about which types and patterns of flies they should bring on a float trip. The best answer is, "Wait. Buy those flies recommended by the guide or professional at the fly shop near the stream intended for fishing." The guide and/or representative of the fly shop gladly will point out those flies in the patterns and sizes that have been attracting the attentions of local fishes. The flies recommended closely resemble or imitate in size, shape, and color the insects emerging from the stream at that time. Fly fishermen who wade have the luxury of time while fishing a uniform and monotonous habitat. Fly fishermen who fish from a drift boat, however, soon learn that time is at a premium, and fish-
Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
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share commonalities with food organing any given habitat is a brief but repeatisms lumps them in the category of ing experience. "generic flies." The wade fisherman can carry Generic flies come in all sizes, dozens of patterns of flies, each in a myrshapes, and colors. Those that float usuiad of sizes and combinations of colors. ally have wings made of hair, some red Somewhere amongst the mix of pator other bright color mixed into the terns, sizes, and colors there is that one body, and one or more large hackles fly that imitates what fish are eating. spun around the hook for additional The process is simply gradual eliminaThe conehead MWB buoyancy. tion, made possible by the luxury of Generic flies that sink typically are viewed as a divided pie. A small slice of time. The fly fisherman in a drift boat dark on top [i.e., black, brown (any the pie includes the real artisans of fly knows or soon learns that the time his or shade), blue, or green (any shade)]. The tying. Creations by those individuals her fly is available to a fish is minimal, sides are silver, greenish, or yellowish, belong more in museums and art galand that the more presentations made and sometimes are decorated with a few leries rather than being used to catch per unit of time or linear distance along strands of ultraviolet, pearl, copper, or fish in some stream or lake. A slightly a bank, the greater the chances of getgold Krystal Flash or other similar larger slice of the pie includes the innoting a strike and hooking a fish. The material. Venters are usually light colvators of fly tying. Innovators develop numbers, patterns, sizes, and colors of ored, often being accentuated by a new and exciting patterns; find new and flies needed by the fly fisherman in a splash of red marabou because the color better materials for tying flies; and, best drift boat are minimal. The more generred is a primary feeding color among of all, dream up simpler ways of doing alized the pattern of the fly, the greater freshwater and coastal fishes. That is, a things. Another slice includes individuis its utility in varying habitats. majority of freshwater prey To a fisherman in a drift species and many coastal boat, the colors of flies are of species of fish use red color less concern than they are to Fly Name Size Quantity as a sex attractor. As a a wade fisherman. When Parachute Adams 14 or 16 6 result, predatory fishes rouselecting flies for fishing from Pale Morning Dun 14 or 16 6 tinely are conditioned to a drift boat, make sure the Elk Hair Caddisfly (light brown) 12 and 14 4 of each respond positively to anycoloration of each pattern is Parachute Grasshopper 10 6 thing with a flash of red, simple. Aquatic organisms Madam "X" 10 6 whether they are looking for generally have dark dorsa or Super Renegade 8 or 10 4 food or potential sex partbacks and light-colored venRubber-legs (black or brown) 8 or 10 6 ners. ters. Among aquatic insects Woolly Bugger (black or green) 6 4 of each I am a tier, user, and and crustacea, dorsa are mostPheasant Tail Bead-head Nymph 14 12 advocate of generic flies. No ly shades of brown or green. Hare's Ear Bead-head Nymph 14 12 one would ever buy my flies The venters commonly are Montana Nymph 6 6 if I were interested in marbeige to light green to yellow. Bitch Creek Nymph 6 4 keting them. But, in the Among prey species of fish, Clouser Minnow 4 and 6 6 of each drift boat where I am the dorsa are brown, green, or only game in town (or on blue. The sides generally are the water), so to speak, my flies are in als who tie flies commercially. Those silver, varying from greenish or yellowish, demand. I am flattered when a client tiers can tie a fly so fast that kibitzers to reddish. The venters usually are wants to use one of my concoctions and often have difficulty grasping what is unblemished silver, tannic silver, or yelmore than happy to provide these being done. Some ladies I have talked lowish silver. "generics" as complimentary gifts. to can tie 100 to 150 flies each per day Among predatory species of fish, Fly fishermen regularly ask me depending upon the complexity of the dorsa also are blue, green, brown, or some about the effectiveness of fishing two or pattern. blend thereof; however, often they are more flies at once. A bead-head nymph The largest slice includes most fly accented with dark dots or reticulations trailing under a floating fly is a good tiers. Flies tied by the majority catch fish, (squiggly, dark-colored lines). The sides example that is popular with fly fishershould catch fish, or might catch fish usually are silver, but, in the case of predmen throughout the Yellowstone under the right circumstances. It really ators who hunt from ambush, sides are Plateau. Whereas that technique is prodoes not matter because, to those indigenerally greenish or brownish and decoductive, and many fly fishermen use viduals, tying flies is fun, relaxing, and rated with vertical bars or horizontal, nothing else, I respond by pointing out rewarding. dark bands. The venters are greenish and that the multiple-fly technique is the The last slice of the pie comprises unmarked. best technique for losing flies twice as the tiers whose flies catch fish instead of Perhaps this is the place to make fast. I quantify that statement by asking fishermen. Flies of those tiers are nondesome general comments about fly tiers the questioner, if you as the fly fisherscript. Many are large and "without and flies: first some observations about fly man have difficulty managing a single character." Most lack that all-important tiers, then a thought about fishing multifly, how can managing multiple flies be "fish-appeal." Yet, when their flies are ple flies, followed by a qualitative and easier or more appealing? The fisherman examined carefully, they exhibit general quantitative listing of flies for the fisherin the drift boat is better off restricting features that are shared widely among man who intends to fish from a drift boat. the number of flies to one at a time. food organisms. The fact that such flies The fly-tying community can be
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Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
JANUARY 2009 SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
1
2
3
8
9
10
Polar Bear outing at Grey Reef
4
5
6
7
Full moon
11
12
13
14
15
16
Regular meeting, 7 p.m.
18
19
20
21
17 Lyin’ and Tyin’ clinic
22
23
24
30
31
WFC Board Meeting, 7 p.m.
25
26
27
28
29
Deadline for Backcast info
Great Rockies Sport Show
Great Rockies Sport Show
WYOMING FLY CASTERS BOARD MEETING December 17, 2008 .The president called the meeting to order. *MSC to approve the minutes of the November board meeting as printed in the Backcast. *MSC to approve the treasurer's report as printed in the Backcast. President-elect report: Banquet committee continues to meet. Items are being gathered for auction. January program will be Mark Boname discussing entomology. Jan. 1 will be Polar Bear Outing, Big Horn outing is being moved to April 18 due to Easter. Vice President Report: MSP to hold "cabin fever outing" in February. Outing will be open to the public and the board authorized no more than $200.00 for outing. (It was later decided to do the Great Rockies Show instead - see below.) MSP to remove requirement that all MacTavish members pay dues, MacTavish winners now have option to pay membership dues. Old Business:
MSP to drop "cabin fever outing" and take free booth at Great Rockies Sport Show. Booth will include raffle for rod/reel, members will be needed for fly tying and casting demos, will be noticed in Backcast. Authorized $75.00 for booth giveaways. New Business: MSP to allow additional $50 for new rod to be used at raffle in future and additional $50 to pay for overage of other rod/reel combos. MSP to repair and move Robinder bench to Speas Hatchery access area. MSP to approve $29.00 for lie & tie due to moving from WOGCC building to Ft. Casper. MSP to reimburse Jim Sparks for gasoline, lunch, shuttle services when used to host Montana Club members that bought gift certificate for a float on the Platte. Received $106.41 from advertisements on club website. MSP to adjourn Submitted by John Robitaille
Wyoming Fly Casters Monthly Newsletter
Page 11
Treasurer’s Report for November 2008 Income Date
Description
Amount
11/13/2008 11/21/2008
Deposit - dues - 60.00, 111/22 Raffle - 72.00, Club Merch - 2.00 Transfer from savings
134.00 3,000.00
Total Income
3,134.00
Check #
Description
Amount
#3922 #3923 #3924 #3925 #3926 #3927 #3928 #3929 #3930 #3931 -
Izaak Walton League - Nov. Rent Kinkos - October Backcast Cash - Xmas Party Joe DeGraw - Trapper's Route Outing Don Jelinek - Replacement - Club Propane Tanks Platte River Fly Shop - 11/12 Raffle Sears - Grill 281.97, Coffee Pot - 34.95, Griddles - 89.75 Richard Crystal - Program-Yellowstone Lake Trout Project Don Jelinek - Night Outing 10/25 Don Jelinek - Cardwell Outing 11/22
(75.00) (81.11) (100.00) (56.11) (22.67) (99.32) 406.67) (400.00) (75.00) (130.00)
Nov Bank Charges Total Expenses
(3.00) (1,448.88)
Expenses
If ya done it, it ain’t braggin.’ -- Yogi Berra
CLASSIFIEDS -- GOOD STUFF FOR SALE (CHEAP!) FOR SALE
Bring your camera along on your next fishing trip, and use it to document your catch and release fish. Then send the digital image to the WFC newsletter editor for consideration of inclusion in the next issue. Contributions are always welcome. Who knows ... maybe your photo will be the next month’s cover.
Special prices for WFC club members! Fly lines, fly reels and fly rods. Call Don Jelinek 267-7477 • Patagonia SST jacket, XL. Brand new. $240 (list $315). Call Scott Novotny 266-3072 • USED RODS TFO 7' 6", 6 wt. Lefty Kreh TICR $50 Good boat streamer rod TFO 9', 6 wt. Jim Teeny rod $50 Call Art Van Rensselaer 262-7655
Wyoming Fly Casters P.O. Box 2881 Casper, WY 82602
www.wyflycasters.org
The mission of the Wyoming Fly Casters is to promote and enhance the sport of fly fishing and the conservation of fish and their habitat.